Friday, December 21, 2007

Last night the Seattle Mariners officially signed former Twins starting pitcher Carlos Silva. Silva agreed to a massive 4-year $48 million deal. My first thought to Seattle fans.... thank you!

Not to come down on Silva who pitched four very solid seasons for the Twins, but the pitcher has always appeared temperamental on the mound and inconsistent in his performances. He certainly is a pitcher who will eat innings and fill a spot in your team's rotation, but the next time I spend 48 million dollars on anything I hope it will buy me a little something more.

Silva went 13-14 last year with 4.19 ERA in 202 IP. He has a lifetime record of 55-46 with a career 4.31 ERA. To Silva's credit, he picked a great place to move to. He now gets to pitch in the very spacious Safeco Field with one of the best defenses behind him. A sinkerball pitcher who was known for quick grown ball outs and forcing many double plays will benefit greatly with Seattle's skilled defense.

My fondest memory of Silva, was during his 2005 campaign. That year Silva posted historic numbers walking ONLY nine batters in 180 innings. He threw strikes and let the Twins get outs. I wish him the best in Seattle and I think he may surprise me with his performance. But I'm not sad to see him go and hope the Twins can better spend $48 million.

Check out the poll in the sidebar and let me hear your feelings on Silva's departure.